New Hampshire is the first state to legally require doctors and medical staff to follow a patient's desires to seek sterilization, especially if it’s the result of a medically necessary operation.
The new law, signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte earlier this month, specifically addresses people with medical conditions who want to get sterilized for their reproductive health.
“At its heart, what this is saying is that a doctor can't withhold treatment from you just because the doctor disagrees with your personal reproductive decisions,” said Rep. Ellen Read, lead sponsor of the bill behind the new law.
Voluntary sterilization is legal in the United States, but some doctors and medical providers may try to prevent patients from seeking sterilization, especially for women in their childbearing years.
Read was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome when she was 26. The condition can cause absent or prolonged periods, infertility and ovarian cysts, as well as insulin resistance. Read said she experienced painful periods, with abnormally heavy bleeding.
Read said her doctors wanted her to wait to get a hysterectomy, in case she wanted a child in the future. Read’s husband had already had a vasectomy, and they both had decided they didn’t want children. But even then, one doctor told her to consider what if, by chance, she remarried and wanted biological kids with her new spouse?
“And in this case, at this point, the reproductive desires of a hypothetical man who I would never marry anyway was more important than my actual health that was sitting right in front of them as their patient,” Read said.
She said she was denied a hysterectomy by multiple doctors over the years, even as her health grew worse. Read said at one point her condition caused her to to bleed every day for an entire year.
“Finally, at the age of 38, my doctor said I was old enough to get a hysterectomy and I finally got it — one of the best things I've ever done,” Read said. “At that time, I still thought of all of my denials. They felt very patronizing.”
Online support groups also helped Read realize how expansive this issue has become, which further prompted her to sponsor the bill. Read said she’s since heard from many women who had similar experiences. NPR has reported that following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, more people have sought voluntary sterilization.
Read said, with a number of birthing and maternity centers in the state closing, New Hampshire policymakers should look at maternal health needs beyond the delivery of children, as a way of broadening the range of services available at clinics.
